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It's not often for an England player is accused of whinging in Australia, yet when Joe Root faced questions regarding the need for pink-ball cricket during the Ashes, he offered an honest answer.

“I personally don’t think so,” Root stated prior to England's net session at the Gabba. “It’s obviously highly popular and well-received in this country, and the hosts have an impressive record in these matches. It's understandable why we’re playing.

“Ultimately, you know from two years out it will happen. It's a requirement of preparing for such contests. For a series like this, is it essential? Probably not … yet it doesn't imply it has no place. I'm fine with it. I don’t think it matches traditional Test cricket. But it’s in the schedule. We’ve got to play it, and we just need to be better our opponents at it.”

Joe Root's Performance in Day-Night Tests Suffers

Like his counterpart, Steve Smith, Root’s typically strong stats see a drop with the pink ball. The Yorkshire batsman has featured in each of the seven England's pink-ball matches so far, and despite a hundred in his debut such match versus the Windies in 2017, his career average above 50 falls to 38.5 under lights.

On the other hand, paceman Mitchell Starc holds an average near 29 with a strike-rate around 50 in general, but those numbers shift to 17 and 33 correspondingly in day-night Tests. During his most recent floodlit game, in Jamaica, he claimed six wickets for nine runs as West Indies were bowled out for 27—his best performance that were soon surpassed by taking seven for 58 in the next Test.

Key Battle Between Root and Starc Could Shape Series

The matchup between Root and Starc is emerging as one of the key contests in this series. Although Cummins and Hazlewood have traditionally troubled him more, in their absence in the first Test, the veteran Starc who got him out for scores of a duck and eight.

Root later reasoned the initial wicket was just a good ball—the type that might not carry the slips back home. The second, bowled chopping on, during England’s second-day collapse, was an error by him. “I am confident in my ability,” he said. “I believe I will return to form.”

England's Hurdles and Readiness

Starc now uses the wobble seam as his main tactic nowadays—he admitted he should have listened to Hazlewood and Cummins suggestions earlier—and in muggy conditions, swing may also come into play. England, down one match, face additional obstacles in this Test, and runs from their top batsman would help in recovering from their own mistakes.

This may not require a hundred should there be quick-fire match occurs, yet Root's absence of a ton in Australia remains a talking point. “I didn’t have long enough to think about it,” was his humble reply on being questioned if the stat weighed on him in Perth.

Squad Decisions and Historic Opportunity

Root and his teammates practiced hard on Sunday, to the sound of hip-hop setting the tone in the heat. Monday and Wednesday are vital for England’s preparations, held under lights.

Wood being unavailable with a sore knee has created an opening in the lineup, and Will Jacks netting with the main batters hints he could be in contention. His off-spin are decent, and extra runs at number eight could balance any conceded runs.

However, Josh Tongue was with the reserves elsewhere and remains an option should England choose an all-pace attack, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was in the squad previously. Plenty to consider, then, at a ground where the visitors have not won a Test in over 40 years.

“It's an opportunity to make history,” Root said on this fact. “It would be all the sweeter if we succeed at this ground.”